The Diamond in the Gear

It's another quiet afternoon in Ponyville, School's over for a week now and I'm enjoying my holidays.

I should be home, but as I brought back some books to her library, Twilight Sparkle asked me to play the babysitter today. I should've refused this offer, but there's a rule now she's a princess : Never refuse what a princess wants. She has really insisted to have me here today. But why me?

Asking her got me this answer.

“Because, DiamondTiara, you've got plenty of free time, Also, your father agreed that it should be a good thing for you to bring me a service, and I have something very, very important to do for Equestria! It'll teach you a bit how to act like a responsible pony, and who knows, you two could become friends with my cousin! Right?” she said.

According to Twilight, her cousin's from a family of bat-ponies and unicorns, so technically

“She is not an actual alicorn, there's hundreds of ponies like her. So Please no bully!”

Of course. Because Only Celestia or Luna bears the status of Royal-grade Alicorns! The others just are winged unicorns or a horned pegasus, the beauty of nature and genetics allows this... I never really believed a word of this either.

But Nyx, Twilight's supposed cousin does really looks strange. I mean, really strange. She doesn't talk a lot, and she rarely goes outside. And it's been like that since the first time we met her. Twilight also insisted she should remain inside and never leave the library.

“You can even sleep in my bedroom for the whole night if you want during my absence, in fact, the castle is all yours. Just stay inside with Nyx, it's not hard at all ! Okay you two, follow me, there's something I need to show you...”

Twilight's looking behind her, if nopony's following her. We're following the crazy mare on her office. There's an old book on her desk. She's levitating it with magic.

“This book.. is important. In fact, I'm going to hide it among others in the library. If there's a fire or anything, your main mission is to run away with it, and you rush to Lyra's home. You don't let anypony else, not even the mane six, not even Princess Celestia enter and try to seize it. It won't happen”

I was thinking, “Oh Twilight, Are you serious?”

“Sure I'll take care of your precious book, but let's say, If Luna's charging, by example, how do I fight against an alicorn?”

“You don't. You're going to pick that random ...Ancient pancake recipe book and theriantrope philosophy book, and burn it, claim you've destroyed it.”

All I can do at this point is to nod and just agree.

“I can do this. What's the Mane Six up to again, Princess?”

“You really wanna know? Alright. We'll need to find answers about a legend haunting the mountains... I'll need Spike to come with us and just can't leave the Castle's Library open to anyone for a whole day. We shall be back at best tomorrow. At worse, tomorrow evening. There's cake and all kind of delicious stuff on the kitchen I picked for you two! Any question, Diamond Tiara?”

“Ooh yes! ... Why me?” I asked.

Twilight grins.

“Because I think you're the least qualified pony for this job, and no pony else would be expected to be my choice for this mission and expect you're the one in this castle. Nyx doesn't really needs a babysitter but I prefer her not to be alone. I think it's just simple.”

She's coming to Nyx, kissing her on the forehead, completely turning and ignoring the disappointment I'm trying to express. She's trolling me, but there are things she isn't telling to me.

“I won't be late! Take care of yourselves, and have fun, there's plenty of great books for you all, and things to cook in the kitchen. Even a cake Spike prepared for you, so you'll survive!”

Nyx nodded in agreement, but never said a single word so far, until,

“Goodbye Twilight! Take care!”

She's going out and join her friends on the hall. Applejack's frowning at me. At least, Pinkie still managed to show us she's got a sense of humor.

“Have fun and try not to set Twilight's home in fire!”

“What if I don't want anything bad to happen?”

“It always ends up like this!”she replied.

“Okay, Bye, good luck with your adventure, I guess!”

She trust me... Princess Twilight! I'm feeling special. Not even feeling like doing silly stuff.

So now we're waiting, there, in the hall of Twilight's new tree shaped castle. A “tree”that kind of looks more like the work of an architect who got a horsedose of drugs. All the drugs.

Yes it's very special, unusual, not discomforting but I really miss the previous library. This place is just cold, in all senses of the term. And the ticking of the clock is resonating in it like in a gothic cathedral.

Nyx isn't really talking. She stands there, reading, just like Twilight would.

I'm approaching, sitting closer, try to act like I'm interested.

“What is it about?”

Nyx is looking at me. She's taking off her glasses, and her pupils turns almond-shaped like a cat.

“Why's your name Diamond Tiara, and why is your cutie mark a Diamond Tiara? Coincidence?”

“Oh well, certainly? I think so? We're all named after what we can do”

Nyx's closing her book.

“I just wanted to know.”

“Nyx, I wanted to say, you know, the other time when I and Silverspoon tricked you into going innawoods, I'm sorry, I really have been a jerk, and”

“It's okay.”

“Did Twilight told you anything about that Royal Mission?”

“It's about ghosts, she don't even know more about them.”

“Ah.”

And we are once again lost in an awkward silence.

“Mind if I play some music or something? Is there even at least one radio in this house?”

She's leaving me without answer. A minute later I'm decided to break the ice and ask more about her.

“So you're studying there? Sounds cool. Magic? Sorcery? Sciences or nature?”

She's nodding, politely. She's really different from the other ponies, kind of reminds me of SilverSpoon, and has a bit of Sweetiebelle in her. I can't explain...

“The Moon is going to be full tonight.”

“Yes I like the moon too, ever heard of the legend of the mare in the moon? When Celestia banished Lu-”

Nyx frowned at me

“This is a legend. I'm a filly but I'm not stupid.”

I won't gain her trust like this.

“You're right, sorry... Heh. Oh I have an idea...or maybe not.”

Nyx's ears are raised like I caught her attention

“Maybe we could ...Find a place and pick a telescope and observe the night sky tonight?”

Nyx's not really happy about that

“That would be fun, and interesting, but Twilight's telescope is broken, and she don't want me to go outside without her permission... Unless you promise me to never tell her about it. Trust me this time!”

“I..I'm not sure if that's a good idea indeed, Twilight's got a doubt about something. Dunno she might be far now.”

Nyx's making a sad face, like a puppy who's got yelled at.

“I thought we could be true friends...”

I must say it's been a truly boring afternoon. Did nothing, no games to play, no interesting book I could actually discover. It kind of feels like we're two grannies in a retirement home, the ticking of a clock in the corridor...

After a whole minute of reconsideration, I'm decided to accept this challenge.

“Okay, just a trip outside, breathing some fresh air. Let's just make sure nopony catch us. We'll be back in less than thirty minutes anyways.”

Nyx smiled, she knew my affinity for not following rules, and I know I'm dumb for this.

“Let's just take the backdoor. It goes onto a field, we're still around the castle, and I know how to fight.”

“You? Fighting? Well okay I can believe you... Cat's eyes!”

She's not picking her glasses, knowing she can see better by night without these. I'm leaving my tiara here, it's useless to carry it everywhere and prefer not to loose it. We're leaving the castle with most lights on, if one thing living in a big house taught me, thieves are repelled by the light.

Twilight's going to murder us if she finds out, but I believe it could be a good opportunity to know Nyx better. And it's good to keep secrets.

She sounds smart enough to know what she's doing, despite her age.

Maybe just as smart as a teenager like me. There's something mysterious about her. She really sounds like Twilight, no wonder they really might be the same family, and being so... different.

We're discussing essentially about how's life. She literally lives with Twilight. All the time. Some things just remains mysterious to me.

I'm following her, as we're heading into the woods, double-checking behind me if nopony is following us.

“Anything wrong Diamond?”

Did I hear somepony? Might be a bird or something...

“I just had a strange impression, my bully instincts tells me somepony are up to no good.”

The night indeed is beautiful, a fresh breeze of air, and the smell of spring through the trees makes everything pleasant. Nyx isn't really talkative, but more friendly minutes after minutes, once we got to know better eachother.

“Follow me, there's a place you never seen before, I bet.”

We're taking a path leading us to the ruins of an old castle. Supposedly the place where,a thousands of years ago, the legend of Nightmare Moon ended. We always heard legends and a lot of things about this castle, I don't really believe anything. May it be inhabited by ghosts, tortured souls from the middle ages...

The view was both fascinating and terrifying, to be on a place which looks like haunted, but instead of fear, together, we're laughing. Scaring eachother, etc. I'm surprised this place haven't been pillaged or raided by Vinyl Scratch's friends to make a rave on this old building...

I'm following Nyx inside, she's using a magic spell to illuminate the path, giving the whole scene some thriller ambience.

“You know, Nyx, When I grow up, I'd love to embrace myself as a gothic anthropomorphic skunk, and live in this place! This is so dark as my soul!”

She's laughing, and I think it's the first time I'm seeing her amused at something. We're standing on the terrace, gazing at the sky.

From there we have a view that's dominating Ponyville, and at the crest of the valley, we can clearly distinguish the lights from Canterlot, located 50Km from where we are. I don't even think we have this view from Twilight's castle.

Nyx's looking around. She's feeling strange...

“What's going on? Getting cold?”

“I feel like I'm getting flashbacks, I wanted to come here tonight and check this place. I might have been there, in a previous life...”

A magic aura is surrounding her, around her horn. Is she faking or try to be scary?

“Nyx? Nyx, let's get out of here, I don't know but your horn's glowing, careful with your magic okay?”

Her eyes are glowing, and like, out of nowhere, a perfectly clear sky, a lightning reach out of the sky, ripping the darkness apart. And bringing me temporary blindness by the way.

Nyx is levitating, surrounded by magic energy.

“Now I do understand why Twilight wanted to keep you inside, try to control your magic!”

Is she a real alicorn or..

“I'm sorry Diamond Tiara!”

“Ah. It's okay, no worries, you just ...scared me I mean the magic and stuff. Let's go home, it's like all Ponyville will gallop here to see what's going on.”

“Okay” she replied, as we're moving down from the dungeon.

We're trotting inside the pretty much broken castle. Nyx's doing it again, with eyes glowing and light coming out of her mouth

“Ow Nyx...”

“I think I'm getting my energy from the night, I can't explain...”

“Aha. That's ...very philosophical.”

As we're walking down the corridor to go back in the town, trying to go back on our own path on that old castle... a strange light in the sky's appearing.

I'm stopping by a balcony to observe what it could be, and Nyx's following me.

What could it be? A Pegasus? It's getting bigger every second. We should go away as fast as we can, nothing about this is inspiring me anything good. Nyx's looking at it with a concerned face.

“Is there anything wrong DiamondTiara?”

These things were accompanied with a strange noise, like the Apple Family's truck motor. Nyx and myself couldn't help it but stand there, and observe it flying closer to where we are.

“Yeah. We shouldn't stay here...”

Two of these objects were closing in, and finally one comes in, flying around the castle, with a pony driving it. It's helped with a powerful spotlight, stands in front of the castle's windows as the light it's carrying is illuminating the whole room from the windowed bay.

The pony in charge of the flying machine spotted us, and stands there for a couple of seconds.

Nyx doesn't really seems enthusiastic either, her eyes looks like thin almonds again, almost blinded by the helicopter's spotlight.

“Do you think Twilight sent some ponies in helicopters to catch us at this point ?”

We're trying not to be scared or intimidated by the size of the machine standing there, but the fact the pilot doesn't look like anything friendly, and the fact the pilot's pointing the helico's machine gun at us, we both agreed that it might, in fact, be great time to move on and hurry, what we did of course.

As soon we escape, a brutal noise resonates in the castle, almost turning us deaf

[ BRRRRRRRTTTT! ]

Did he came too close and ripped the windows bay? Hell no. the pilot is firing his machine gun into the castle, shattering the windows and half of the walls around us as we're running, encouraging us to gallop faster

“TAKE COVER!” I yelled instinctively.

Every window behind and in front of us is being disintegrated in pieces as we run away from it and hide behind the rock walls, the last thing we can trust to be resistant to this kind of non-magical attack.

The sound is deafening, and seeing the disasters it's doing to walls made of rock, I don't want to know what would it feel like if I get hit

Even Nyx, who's been stoical and calm so far, at the height of her own magic, she's terrified

“DIAMOND WHAT IS HAPPENING? WHAT IS THIS THING?”

I'm taking my breath.

“I don't know. I think it's... probably the Army, so we gotta hide for a while now. They might be looking for the wrong ponies? Or in training? We must get out of here, let's run to the woods! ”

I'm holding her in my hooves, as the helicopter seems to have moved, gunning the other aisle of the castle.

If Nyx ran away and got shot I'd have that on my consciousness forever

“HIYAAAH!” she yelled, terrified.

“N..Nyx, don't you have like, any alicorn superpower or something? It's time to use them...”

“I cannot control it when I'm scared!”

We are so fucked, as the helicopter's still flying around, clearly searching for us, or making us leave the castle maybe, trying to track us, like a hungry predator.

Something's crashing on another room in the castle. This time, it's ponies entering in the living room by what used to be a giant crystal ceiling. And by the windows. They're climbing down there with a cord.

they're dressed in black uniform, boots, carrying each their rifle. They're looking like black ghosts, with green eyes, I've seen some of these, they're glasses that allows them to see in the dark. I'm tempted to ask them to spare us but that could be a bad idea. we're silently moving away from here before they notice us.

They got dropped from the other helicopter as the first one who opened fire seems to be just around.

I'm moving discretely with Nyx, I can feel that I got some cuts due to the shattered glass, it's not painful but my instinct tells me they were here, for us.

The stallions are looking left and right. They speak Equestrian, but with a certain accent telling us they're definitively not from Equestria. One of them is shouting at the others, he might be their chief.

“Unit Tango take the west aisle, unit Sierra, clear the southeast. Section, go!”

And there comes a terrifying thought. Are we at war? Are they here for the book Twilight asked us to hide? Or for her? For me, for a ransom?

They're spreading and moving around the castle, with lasers attached on their rifles, night vision goggles, everything. bucking in the doors like it's not an obstacle. They're certainly well trained, but why are they here?

I can feel Nyx shaking, or is it me? Holding her close, and feeling she's also trying to calm down and don't make a noise, we remain hidden in the darkness, and I now only hope the legends were real, if this place is really haunted... I'm hoping the ghosts, ghouls, vampires who supposedly haunt this castle will emerge again, I kind of guess they manifested themselves with Nyx earlier.

Two stallions are coming a bit too close, one of them carrying a radio we could clearly listen

“Unit 02 no sign of Njörun. Also update, Operation control requires Njörun alive, apply the procedure for capturing the creature, I say again, capture the alicorn alive”

This is now pretty clear, they are here for Nyx. She's an Alicorn. Her fate is just between my hooves.

“Roger, zéro-tou” he replied with some strange accent. They're not from here for sure.

His teammate : “Shut up. I heard something. Right there. Go.”

I just stop breathing and I'm waiting. We can hear them moving to the corridor

There's still that helicopter outside with a powerful spotlight illuminating the dining room. They're looking everywhere and finally one of them is pointing their torchlight right on us.

“ALL UNITS! CONTACT! TWO PONIES! TWO PONIES!”

All the crew of ponies are heading where we are, we can't help but run, as far as we can.

“DON'T MOVE!”he yelled at us. I'm seeing Nyx and myself being covered with red dots. We're caught.

Nyx's crying... I want her to know everything will be fine, but i'd lie to her. Why... why, how did i get in this situation first, this afternoon I was like "oh no..." and now I only want to protect her from these stallions. Maybe things would have been the same if we were at Twilight's castle.

“Who are you? What do you want?”I had to ask foolishly.

One of them is coming closer, taking me away with a hoof circling my neck. I'm trying to escape, but that stallion's way stronger. “Unleash the fury, Nyx!”

Nyx's replying “Diamond! What do they want?”

The military's just yelling “ Make them shut up!”then contacts someone in the radio “HQ mission accomplished, Njörun is captive, I say again Njörun has been captured, another unidentified pony captured, over.”

They're trying to put something over her head, and finding a way to cuff her. Is that a kidnapping? Why sending a whole platoon? It mustn't be just for us.

I'm just paying attention to their conversations as one seems to be looking at me, after throwing me against a wall. One of the ponies disguised as a ninja's asking his superior, it seems.

“What are we doing with her?”

Another one's responding to him.

“Eliminate all witnesses, she's not a part of the mission.”

I really had to ask

“what mission? WHAT MISSION are you talking about? We're just two fillies in the wrong place, just let us go for Celestia's sake!”

He's kicking me on the floor and for only answer, “SHUT UP!”

Kind of lost consciousness for a second here, and now my mouth is bleeding, it's like this asshole just broke me a tooth.

Nyx's just shouting “Leave her alone!”on a determined tone.

That horse's taking me into another room. I'm trying to scream for help. Just in case someone could hear me. We're not that far from Ponyville, all that raffle must have brought some attention.

Some blue-greenish lighting is coming from Nyx. She's pissed, finally!

She managed to get rid of her cuffs.

“I said LEAVE HER ALONE!!!”

Nyx's surrounded by some kind of magical aura. She managed to throw most of the team of ponies who gathered here, smashing them against the wall in a burst of energy.

An invisible sphere is being sculptured in the walls of the corridor around her, floating there in the middle.

That horse's shooting at her, yelling something in the radio, she's pointing her horn at the stallion, who no longer points his gun at me, but at her, bursting his face into pieces with a beam of magic, before she's fainting.

It was impressive. It was different. The stallion just shot at her and I swear I saw the bullets being vaporized in the air before hitting Nyx.

I'm still trying to reach her, with the hopes to run back into Ponyville while the rest of the soldiers are on the ground, another division coming from the other aisle of the castle yelling

“She's dangerous! stay the fuck away”

And another one responds

“Of course you dumbasses she, I told you to double-check the locking of that clamp you stupid fuck!”

They're surrounding Nyx and myself again.

“Is she knocked? Why is the pink one still alive? See? When there's orders they're here for a good reason!”

Nyx is knocked as they're attaching something around her horn. Yet she still finds the force to yell “Hey! She's my sister, leave her alone!”

A very witty shout that could have got my life saved. Now the soldiers are confused.

“Her sister? Hah. And you are? Madame Celestia's daughter?”

“Fuck that, let's take both, that'll double the price!”

And so they're taking us in one of their helicos, carried us onboard with a rope. We're both cuffed, and I feel remorse of being useless. I'm feeling nauseous, stomach is still aching not only after being kicked by that horse earlier, but also flying in this thing.

There's another pony next to me, I kind of knew I have seen one earlier when we got out of Twilight. They were observing us all the afternoon. Kind of makes me feel it was inevitable. I wanna believe this.

I'm trying to look at the military ponies, and the stallions in uniform, I notice an insignia i never seen before in the Royal Army, neither Germaneigh

“Where are you taking us? How much do you think you're going to ask?”

One of the soldiers finally answers

“This isn't a kidnapping”He's pointing at Nyx “This is a global security special operation.”

“And where are you taking us?”

“We'll bring you on a secured site in agreement with international safety council, then the rest isn't our business. ”

“Sven, stop talking to them. This critter here killed three of our guys today. Lara and Ulrich are seriously wounded”

“It was legitimate defense. You attacked us.” I replied in the defense of Nyx

“No, actually this is our job.”

I'm feeling so bad, I wish I could.. just cancel and come back to the part I decide or not to go outside with Nyx for a few minutes... I shouldn't have let Nyx leave it and get in this situation. These horses came for her and no pony else. Ah yeah, me.. Twilight knew they were around.

“I'm sorry Nyx. I had one job... and I failed.”

She's looking at me briefly.

“I will be fine... I think we'll be fine, okay?”

Hours are passing. The big helico carrying us is finally landing. That place is really colder than expected. There's a truck standing there with more ponies. The few Nyx got wounded are carried on one, we're took on another, accompanied by another crew of military ponies.

“The fucking bastards. What's their plan? Nyx, I think they wanted you, Or maybe me. You know my dad's very rich... Aah I'm sorry, first I made fun of you, almost got you lost, now It's like, I never learned anything, I swear, I changed!”

Nyx is just looking at me, with tears in her eyes, and still she had the very fine and comforting words

“I know. I would have gone outdoors as soon you fell asleep anyways, and I insisted. I'm the one who's sorry.”

“They were waiting for us, I still don't know who they are!”

Nyx is looking at my wound caused by the shattered glass

“D.. does it hurts?”

“Kind of itching, I'd need sutures but it stopped bleeding. Hope it won't infect. My jaw hurts more, kind of.”

“Wish I could do something for you.. I feel weird with this thing on my horn.”

I'd try to help her ant take it off her horn but doing this would get us both shot.

She's looking at me. We're looking at eachother, knowing we're locked in that place. She's smiling a bit. I'm trying to do the same. We're in a strange, surreal situation.

“When we're out of this and back in Ponyville, we'll explain how some ponies rushed into Twilight's castle, trying to catch us, so we've been hiding, and rushed in the woods and hoped that castle could have been a good hideout. Okay?”

“Okay Diamond.”

“Shut up or I gas you both.” the soldier shouts. He's not old but feels like an asshole enough to do bad things to fillies. If they were unarmed, I think I could use my bullying techniques to destroy him entirely, but he'll rather shoot me.

As we're falling asleep, the truck brutally stops. two soldiers are opening the doors.

“The dark colored alicorn is Nyx. Who's the pink female? What have your guys done?”

Then there's that horse with a butchered Equestrian yelling at me

“You, asleep like a lazy roach Equestrian! Decline what's your name, fuck!”

“Hgnn Diamond Tiara..”

“See? Is pony pink with negro pony, we got twice for one! Promosheun!”

The other horse shouts as us firmly.

“You two. Get down here!”

Nyx is accompanied by four ponies, with more ponies armed all around us, She still can't do anything due to the anti-magic clamp attached on her horn.

It's cold, and we're early in the morning. Standing in front of a large bridge. I recognized the road signs, this looks like the north or somewhere in Ponyland I think.

There's one pony coming out of the fog. Alone, with a black uniform. Some of the military horses are mumbling.

“Negociator's here, don't shoot him.”

The pony looked rather confident and unimpressed by the fact all the others had their guns pointed at him. He's coming in, and observes Nyx carefully, then nods. They're pushing her ahead, and brings him to show me.

“You, Kolechians always come with a surprise... It wasn't planned you know.”

He's looking at me.

“You... Yes you, pink little thing, you're really lucky to be alive you know that?” he said

“What's gonna happen to me and what do you mean by... Lucky? Can you let me go?”

They're laughing briefly, he's not.

The military's pushing him away from us

“Now do your part of the contract” he told him, still with that funny accent. The pony with a black coat disappears on the bridge inside the fog.

Minutes are passing, and the boss of that platoon of soldiers receives a radio messages rather hard to decipher. He's briefing me and Nyx.

“Alright, listen you two, you're going to travel through this bridge, and not move elsewhere. If you go left, right, or stop, we shoot you dead. Do you understand?”

There's a set of spotlights illuminating the bridge, making the road barely visible, bordered with snow.

“You're going to execute us both, what's the point. Is Nyx such a threat? Look at her, you bastards! You look tough with your guns and all, heh.”

He's shouting loudly at me

“You're not my fucking business, go walk on the other side of this gate before I kill you!”

Nyx looks terrified, as ponies all around her are preparing their assault rifles.

The road is empty, and we start walking slowly in direction of the bridge, in the middle of a pine tree forest. We're escorted by armed ponies pointing their weapons at us.

As we progress, we distinguish another pony coming out of the shadow. A pale, ghostly figure... An old horse, with a scar on his face, hoof-cuffed. He's also escorted by more ponies pointing their guns at him, likely ready to open fire, certainly from another country.

This is a silent, eerie moment when both soldiers stops. We're looking into eachother. Who's this horse? Looks like he's seen some shit. The soldiers behind us are saluting him, and he keeps walking with them, before disappearing. I know I've seen his face somewhere, maybe on a newspaper. I know this pony, but from where? Also he looks younger.

I'm observing him and under his dark red mane, a severed horn is barely visible, as the Sun slowly rises behind him, chasing the fog away.

I have no idea who the Kolechians are exchanging us with, but I suspect something going on. We're also accelerating before, again, being surrounded by more military, again, pointing more rifles at us, and coming to catch me and Nyx.

The sound of a turbine engine reeving up can be clearly heard in a distance, with a flashing light through the fog.

Alright it's a plane. I get it. These soldiers are taking us inside of it. They're separating us.

“Are...are you taking us back home?” Nyx asked. Her questions remained unanswered.

The pony with a black uniform with a red triangle, similar to the one I noticed on the aircraft's door is examining her again, contacting someone on the phone.

“I need a secured line with the president... Yeah Operation's complete.We have your Nyx onboard, I'm sending you the pictures. We even got a bonus, we have no idea how she got there. Ten or twelve years old. Bright pink filly. Should we eliminate her? Alright, we're bringing them madam! Thank you!”